Yen-Hao Lin

Conjugated Block Copolymer Photovoltaics with near 3% Efficiency through Microphase Separation

Organic electronic materials have the potential to impact almost every aspect of modern life including how we access information, light our homes, and power personal electronics. Nevertheless, weak intermolecular interactions and disorder at junctions of different organic materials limit the performance and stability of organic interfaces and hence the applicability of organic semiconductors to electronic devices. Here, we demonstrate control of donor-acceptor heterojunctions through microphase-separated conjugated block copolymers. When utilized as the active layer of photovoltaic cells, block copolymer-based devices demonstrate efficient photoconversion well beyond devices composed of homopolymer blends. The 3% block copolymer device efficiencies are achieved without the use of a fullerene acceptor. X-ray scattering results reveal that the remarkable performance of block copolymer solar cells is due to self-assembly into mesoscale lamellar morphologies with primarily face-on crystallite orientations. Conjugated block copolymers thus provide a pathway to enhance performance in excitonic solar cells through control of donor-acceptor interfaces.

Synthesis and crystallinity of all-conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene) block copolymers

A simplified approach towards the synthesis of high molecular weight (Mw > 50 kg mol−1) poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based all-conjugated block copolymers is demonstrated and applied to prepare a series of all-conjugated block copolymers. Grazing-incidence X-ray scattering measurements show that P3HT crystallization is suppressed in all-conjugated block copolymers with low (<25 wt%) P3HT content.

Highly Flexible Self-Assembled V2O5 Cathodes Enabled by Conducting Diblock Copolymers.

Mechanically robust battery electrodes are desired for applications in wearable devices, flexible displays, and structural energy and power. In this regard, the challenge is to balance mechanical and electrochemical properties in materials that are inherently brittle. Here, we demonstrate a unique water-based self-assembly approach that incorporates a diblock copolymer bearing electron- and ion-conducting blocks, poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(ethyleneoxide) (P3HT-b-PEO), with V2O5 to form a flexible, tough, carbon-free hybrid battery cathode. V2O5 is a promising lithium intercalation material, but it remains limited by its poor conductivity and mechanical properties. Our approach leads to a unique electrode structure consisting of interlocking V2O5 layers glued together with micellar aggregates of P3HT-b-PEO, which results in robust mechanical properties, far exceeding the those obtained from conventional fluoropolymer binders. Only 5 wt % polymer is required to triple the flexibility of V2O5, and electrodes comprised of 10 wt % polymer have unusually high toughness (293 kJ/m3) and specific energy (530 Wh/kg), both higher than reduced graphene oxide paper electrodes. Furthermore, addition of P3HT-b-PEO enhances lithium-ion diffusion, eliminates cracking during cycling, and boosts cyclability relative to V2O5 alone. These results highlight the importance of tradeoffs between mechanical and electrochemical performance, where polymer content can be used to tune both aspects.

Supramolecular block copolymer photovoltaics through ureido-pyrimidinone hydrogen bonding interactions

A challenge in the development of bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics (BHJ OPVs) is achieving a desirable nanoscale morphology. This is particularly true for polymer blend OPVs in which large-scale phase separation occurs during processing. Here, we present a versatile approach to control the morphology in polymer blend OPVs through incorporation of self-associating 4 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone (UPy) endgroups onto donor and acceptor conjugated polymers. These UPy functionalized polymers associate to form supramolecular block copolymers during solution blending and film casting. Atomic force microscopy measurements show that supramolecular associations can improve film uniformity. We find that the performance of supramolecular block copolymer OPVs improves from 0.45% to 0.77% relative to the non-associating conjugated polymer blends at the same 155 °C annealing conditions. Impedance measurements reveal that UPy endgroups both increase the resistance for charge recombination and for bulk charge transport. This work represents a versatile approach to reducing large-scale phase separation in polymer–polymer blends and directing the morphology through supramolecular interactions.